“The artist is the confidante of nature.” Auguste Rodin

An artist who is more than confident in and of nature is Wayne Chunat of Lakeland Fl. Wayne is a self-taught artist whose first love has been always been wildlife and the natural world. He has been drawing since grade school when a teacher noticed his talent and took him to the Cleveland Museum of Art to sketch the masters.
Wayne has developed his own style and techniques by observing nature and learning from other artists. He practices mostly in acrylics, but uses watercolors, oils, pencil and sumi inks or other medium and technique needed to express his vision and feeling for the subject. Wayne specializes in North American wildlife, historic structures and landscapes. But he is equally skilled at painting life size animals to the smallest detailed miniatures. 
While managing the Carroll County Ohio Art Center for seven years Wayne developed programs and exhibits that brought an entire rural community to an awareness of the arts and artists that surrounds them. He received several grants for the center and oversaw many structural upgrades to the arts building.

In 2014 Wayne moved to Florida and became involved with the Lakeland Art Guild and Ridge Art center of Winter Haven, earning prizes and awards as well as selling both his standard sized works and miniatures. He is also a member of the Miniature Society of Florida and the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington DC and Cider Painters of America. Since moving to Florida, Wayne has taken an interest in plein aire painting since there are many opportunities to practice this art form.

Wayne has a BA in biology and geology from Kent State University and has taken art courses from Arleta Pech, Florian Lawton, David Rankin, John Seery Lester and John Banovich. Before retiring in 1998, he was a naturalist and urban forester for the Cleveland Metroparks and a director and superintendent of parks and recreation for the city of Mentor, Ohio. He currently teaches an acrylic class and has organized a resident art show at his current home in Woodbrook Estates in Lakeland Florida. When you view his latest works, both large and small, you will see this talented artist is truly a confidante of the natural world.